Prompt: Although the development of the Trans-Mississippi West is popularly associated with hardy individualism, it was in fact largely dependent on the federal government. Assess the validity of this statement with specific reference to western economic activities in the 19th century. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the idea of the far west captivated many. The chance to begin life anew attracted thousands of individuals and families alike to move out west and escape their current life, which was usually full of poverty and for some, full of discrimination. As the west expanded and grew into an important part of the United States, westerners found it somewhat difficult to survive with important resources going scarce. Although the …show more content…
Now that thousands of people had claimed their 160 acres, the government had to sustain the land's fertility so it would remain cultivatable for years to come. It would also reduce any chances of the settlers moving again and coming in conflict with the Natives. The government encouraged the development of the area by constantly aiding the frontiers with the Timber Culture Act and the Newland Reclamation Acts. The Timber Culture Act was produced to help the farmers successfully grow crops on their land for long periods of time by keeping the soil fertile and preventing erosion. The Timber Culture Act gave away free land to people who would plant forty acres of trees on it. They believed planting more trees would increase humidity and increase rainfall, which was beneficial for farmers. The Newland Reclamation Act of 1902 funded irrigation projects for the dry land of the west. Congress passed many laws to protect the west from harm. Everything was going very well for the settlers in the west, except for disputes and battles with the native Indian tribes. The tribes had signed many treaties with the Americans regarding their land and their safety; however, the treaties were loosely followed and ignored for the most part. In 1868, the Lakota were having conflicts with the US Army. The Lakota were angry that the army kept coming into their territory. This led to Red Cloud's War. Congress passed the Fort
Henry Clay suggested the Maine join as a free state and Missouri as a slave state
The expansion to the West in the 19th century was an interesting and incredible time. As the Eastern population of the United States grew, people expanded to the West in search of opportunity. Over population created a lack of jobs and land, so emigration westward was appealing for many. People from many walks of life traveled west and each one experienced their time on the trail a different way. These personal journals and diaries gave historians a glance at what the western frontier was really like during that time frame. These personal accounts showcase the attitudes, concerns and the everyday lives of different travelers.
People moved to the West to seek adventure, to get away from city life and working in factories, and some came for health reasons. Most people moved to better their lot. Travelers traveled West because they were promised land by Uncle Sam. Minors, cattle ranchers, and farmers moved to the West searching for crop bonanzan and to start new lives. Federick Jackson Turner thought the the settlement of the West played a role in American development. He felt like it outlined character and customs by creating a growth in independence, self-confidence, and individualism. Turner also believed it encouraged invention and adaptation. His critics believed the opposite. They felt white Americans conquered the West, opposed to the settling there. They thought that the Mexican American, Asian American, Anglo among
Why some groups opposed Mississippi’s secession was that those people didn’t believe that it was right to keep slaves, no one really minded it till after the American Civil War when people started to realize that it was wrong to have slaves and that they should let them go and live a equals,but Mississippi and a few other states didn’t like this idea. So they decided to try and become their own free country.
Movement west was a controversial topic in 1800’s, many people believed that it would be beneficial to grow west but some thought that life out west was too harsh and that we would not gain anything from moving west.
In efforts to restore the land back to normal, the federal government along with other agencies, created new rules and regulations to help improve the rehabilitation of the land. Some adjustments included: imposing that farmers plant trees and grass to anchor the soil, to plow and terrace in contour patterns to hold rainwater, and also was the emergence of allowing certain parts of the farmland to lie fallow each year so the soil there can regenerate. The government also purchased 11.3 million acres of land to so that the land would not be used for farming and other agriculture processes.
With the Forest Act many other acts protecting the Earth’s resources sprung up as well. All of the acts that were passed restricted important resources from being wasted and blatantly used for company production areas. These acts, enlisted in terms of the government, would allow the president to choose areas in which resources could always exist and couldn’t be overused. The areas chosen would include places with plentiful natural assets and a large range of land. This early protection against the act of overharvesting, lead to people being able to
The beginning of the western part of the United States was very different from the eastern region. The west started as the bare minimum but only after the east had been established and civilized. “American folklore is focused primarily on the 19th century, especially west of the Mississippi River. Enormous popular attention in the media focuses on the Western United States in the second half of the 19th century, a period sometimes called the Old West, or the Wild West, frequently exaggerating the romance and violence of the period.” (Wright) Therefore, the west had many different aspects in which it faced in the early stages. The people moving to the west experienced many different things during their adventure.
The North had the largest cities out of all regions and was likely the most technologically advanced. The North had roads, canals, and railroads that connected the region into a giant web of connections. Many large cities were located here such as the largest city in the United States, New York City, or NYC. Many European immigrants lived in the North and worked in the factories located there. Although the region was prosperous and “advanced”, the living conditions weren’t the greatest for the common, blue-collar worker. Since the factories did not pay much, the average joe couldn’t afford the nicest of living spaces. This forced families to move into tenements that had horrid living conditions. Sanitation was nonexistent, disease was common, and families would often live with other families. The south was almost directly opposite. While there were big cities in the South, a majority of the population would live in rural areas. In fact, only one-tenth of the population in the South lived in urban areas. People commonly lived in plantation homes and owned large plots of land, such as plantations. There were almost as many black slaves in the South as there were whites, 4 million blacks, and 5.5 million whites. Most people worked on farms and the ideal labor was slavery, a controversial issue at the time. The west was a little odd. In the 1840s, the West was sparsely populated. Most occupants were Native Americans who have been in the West for 100’s of years. For the people living there, mining, fishing, and “dry farming”, were common occupations. Since the weather was unpredictable, settlers resorted to a technique called “dry farming.”The gold rush was one of the biggest events in the west, causing thousands of people in the East to start their own quest for
After reading and researching the text and outside sources, I will write an essay, using the appropriate R.A.S.E format, describing the hardships and advantages that you would face in migrating west in the 19th century and support my conclusions with evidence from the text as well as a personal invite. There were many hardships one would face when emigrating west such as extreme conditions and overcrowding on the East Coast; however, there were also many advantages to moving west during this time period as well. Some examples would include advanced farming and transportation methods. During the 19th century, many settlers decided to move west due to overcrowding on the East Coast. However, shifting to the west and expanding the United States
The purpose of me writing this essay is to discuss the history and achievements of Mississippi. Mississippi joined the Union as the 20th state in 1817 and gets its name from the Mississippi River, which forms its western border. Spanish explorers arrived in the state in 1540 but it was the French who made the first permanent settlement in Mississippi in 1699. In the 19th century, Mississippi produced the most cotton in the United States. The capital of Mississippi is Jackson. Its population for 2010 is at around 2,967,297. Its size is approximately 48,432 square miles. Mississippi state nickname is famously known as “The Magnolia State”. Its state motto is “By valor and arms”. Its state is known as the Magnolia. Its state bird is the Mockingbird.
The play “From the Mississippi Delta” is a story about a young black girl named Phelia and takes place during the civil rights era, in Greenwood, Mississippi. Phelia's mother worked as a midwife for white families, it was during that time when Phelia was only eleven years old that she was raped by a white man at the home. From that point forward Phelia acted out by indulging in prostitution, exotic dancing, and stealing, which eventually led to incarceration and becoming an unwed mother. Phelia’s mother is also killed later on in the play when her home is firebombed by the Ku Klux Klan. Although heartbroken, Phelia uses her mother's death as motivation to fulfill her destiny and move north. Despite the unfortunate circumstances and little direction Phelia still had big dreams and plans on making it out her small town and becoming something great. After much motivation and encouragement from the community, Phelia
Some of the causes of the expansion to the West in late 1900, where the overflowing population, to escape poverty, fleeing the law, fleeing from the religious oppression. Americans were mainly farmers who needed arable land for their crops and livestock, land that was not available in the overcrowded and farmed-out east. There were, as well, financial panics (in 1818 and 1839) that uprooted people and sent them west seeking a fresh start. The West offered a new start for Americans needing more land for livestock and crops. In the search for new opportunities. Entire families left their homes behind just carrying their belongings in wagons, with the dreams
In the year 1843, the stage was set for the Great Migration. Throughout the 1840s westward expansion started rolling. People living in the crowded east were lured west with
It is the year 1850 and the west is just starting to populate. The west has so many goods to offer like gold, land, and jobs. My family and I are farmers and we are poor. We are doing everything we can to live, but we are not going west. We are not going west because we are not willing to risk our lives and many people are leaving so there's more opportunities where we are.